In 2011 we pitted the Ducati 848 EVO, Suzuki GSX-R750 and Triumph Daytona 675R against each other both on the track and street to find the king of the middleweight sportbike category. By the numbers, Suzuki's GSX-R750 emerged the winner in both arenas, but the Triumph tugged at our heartstrings throughout. Oddly, despite having the largest displacement, Ducati's 848 EVO simply couldn't hang with its Japanese and British competition.

When Kawasaki re-introduced the ZX-6R with its 636cc engine this year, suddenly the oddball middleweight sportbike wars are back on, and who better to wage this war than us? The natural competitor to the Kawi is the GSX-R750, the winner of this test in 2011. But we have such a soft spot for the Triumph Daytona 675R we decided to bring it along as well.